Oceans would probably be red due to increased algae (more water means more moderated temps and, therefore, more algae, especially of the red variety) and the sky would, therefore, likely be pink in the evening/morning and purple during the day. Happy now?

If we assume it's like Candyland, all the life will be made of delicious candy.If we assume it's like Ooo, Finn and Jake will welcome our astronauts.If we assume it's like Deadwood, Al Swearinger will sell us alien whores.

It's the exact wrong kind of article to promote science. It reads like homework.

Well, it may seem unlikely we'll ever discover an inhabitable world twice the size of Earth, but when we do, let's hope we took the "High-G Environment" background. It pays to get 100% production rate right off , although the enemy will usually just carpet bomb the planet during an attack, making the extra hit for ground troops somewhat less useful.

Arctic Phoenix:Okay, guys, for those of you who didn't read the whole article:

Oceans would probably be red due to increased algae (more water means more moderated temps and, therefore, more algae, especially of the red variety) and the sky would, therefore, likely be pink in the evening/morning and purple during the day. Happy now?

Wow. Way to come up with a speculation that wasn't anywhere in the article.

/understood most of it, wikipedia'd what I couldn't (still relatively easy-- Ice VII/VI was the hardest concept--warm ice?)//you guys don't like sci-fi that goes in depth, huh?

Peki:Arctic Phoenix: Okay, guys, for those of you who didn't read the whole article:

Oceans would probably be red due to increased algae (more water means more moderated temps and, therefore, more algae, especially of the red variety) and the sky would, therefore, likely be pink in the evening/morning and purple during the day. Happy now?

Wow. Way to come up with a speculation that wasn't anywhere in the article.

/understood most of it, wikipedia'd what I couldn't (still relatively easy-- Ice VII/VI was the hardest concept--warm ice?)//you guys don't like sci-fi that goes in depth, huh?

A long time ago on Slashdot I proposed a kind of inside-out Dyson sphere (people on the outside, like a planet, not on the inside facing a star) that was about a light-year in diameter and massed about double the Milky Way Galaxy (iirc, it's been years since I scribbled on that napkin). At the surface, there would be 1 gravity, and it would blueshift the background radiation so your 2.7K temp would actually be in the range of liquid water.

Of course, you'd have to have a tiny shell of buckytubes or graphene sheets or something.

No clue what kind of atmosphere, clouds, or storms would result, or whether it would be safe to set it spinning, but I wanted something that dwarfed Ringworld. Not sure if this would be classed as a type III civilization, though.

doglover:If we assume it's like Candyland, all the life will be made of delicious candy.If we assume it's like Ooo, Finn and Jake will welcome our astronauts.If we assume it's like Deadwood, Al Swearinger will sell us alien whores.

It's the exact wrong kind of article to promote science. It reads like homework.

It's io9. For all we know it IS some kid's homework that the writer stole and didn't feel bothered to credit.

I like sci-fi writers who do their homework. What I don't like is sci-fi writers who have to go and tell me they did their homework by including a bunch of equations and monotonous technical details that don't advance the story but allow them to stroke their little nerd-boners about how they understand the minutiae of, say, Rayleigh scattering.

If the planet's sky should be green, say it's green. But don't bore me with a bunch of stuff about wavelengths and isotope ratios.

I like sci-fi writers who do their homework. What I don't like is sci-fi writers who have to go and tell me they did their homework by including a bunch of equations and monotonous technical details that don't advance the story but allow them to stroke their little nerd-boners about how they understand the minutiae of, say, Rayleigh scattering.

If the planet's sky should be green, say it's green. But don't bore me with a bunch of stuff about wavelengths and isotope ratios.

Okay. . . I guess that's fair.

I can't read Tolkien because he likes to describe to the inch the distance between the bark lines on the trees of whatever the hell. Much easier for me to go "Oh, if the atoms in the atmosphere absorb mostly blue light, then the atmosphere ought to be red."

I like sci-fi writers who do their homework. What I don't like is sci-fi writers who have to go and tell me they did their homework by including a bunch of equations and monotonous technical details that don't advance the story but allow them to stroke their little nerd-boners about how they understand the minutiae of, say, Rayleigh scattering.

If the planet's sky should be green, say it's green. But don't bore me with a bunch of stuff about wavelengths and isotope ratios.

Okay. . . I guess that's fair.

I can't read Tolkien because he likes to describe to the inch the distance between the bark lines on the trees of whatever the hell. Much easier for me to go "Oh, if the atoms in the atmosphere absorb mostly blue light, then the atmosphere ought to be red."

StrangeQ:doglover: If we assume it's like Candyland, all the life will be made of delicious candy.If we assume it's like Ooo, Finn and Jake will welcome our astronauts.If we assume it's like Deadwood, Al Swearinger will sell us alien whores.

It's the exact wrong kind of article to promote science. It reads like homework.

It's io9. For all we know it IS some kid's homework that the writer stole and didn't feel bothered to credit.

I can't read Tolkien because he likes to describe to the inch the distance between the bark lines on the trees of whatever the hell. Much easier for me to go "Oh, if the atoms in the atmosphere absorb mostly blue light, then the atmosphere ought to be red."

I like Tolkien, and I don't mind his detail that he goes into things. It's part of the whole kit and caboodle when you deal with high fantasy stories involving elves, dwarfs, and other creatures. But what irks me the most is that he has an annoying habit of expressing everything in poetry. Sure, he was a professor who specialized in Anglo-Saxon and English Language and Literature, but I doubt it was necessary to spout that much poetry for everything. And some of it got really childish and laughable, and it took away from the books.Boromir got turned into an orc arrow pincushion? Let us sing lamenting dirges while shedding manly tears of sadness at the loss of a brother in arms.Rousing the Riders of the Mark? Let me, the King of Rohan, recite some poetry.In trouble and need to summon Tom Bombadil? Recite these dozen lines or so calling me in song, and remember to recite them exactly as I say them to you, or I may not come. Sure, you might be sucked in by evil spirits related to the Witch King of Angmar, who just happened to wipe out the humans here a while back, but that's secondary.It's like song and dance will solve all your problems.

I can't read Tolkien because he likes to describe to the inch the distance between the bark lines on the trees of whatever the hell. Much easier for me to go "Oh, if the atoms in the atmosphere absorb mostly blue light, then the atmosphere ought to be red."

I like Tolkien, and I don't mind his detail that he goes into things. It's part of the whole kit and caboodle when you deal with high fantasy stories involving elves, dwarfs, and other creatures. But what irks me the most is that he has an annoying habit of expressing everything in poetry. Sure, he was a professor who specialized in Anglo-Saxon and English Language and Literature, but I doubt it was necessary to spout that much poetry for everything. And some of it got really childish and laughable, and it took away from the books.Boromir got turned into an orc arrow pincushion? Let us sing lamenting dirges while shedding manly tears of sadness at the loss of a brother in arms.Rousing the Riders of the Mark? Let me, the King of Rohan, recite some poetry.In trouble and need to summon Tom Bombadil? Recite these dozen lines or so calling me in song, and remember to recite them exactly as I say them to you, or I may not come. Sure, you might be sucked in by evil spirits related to the Witch King of Angmar, who just happened to wipe out the humans here a while back, but that's secondary.It's like song and dance will solve all your problems.

it is better with the poetry, reminiscent of skaldic storytelling.

truly, take the time to read it all, and the experience of the story is better by far.